CA1126571A - Low-temperature steam desorbate process for improved instant tea - Google Patents
Low-temperature steam desorbate process for improved instant teaInfo
- Publication number
- CA1126571A CA1126571A CA334,390A CA334390A CA1126571A CA 1126571 A CA1126571 A CA 1126571A CA 334390 A CA334390 A CA 334390A CA 1126571 A CA1126571 A CA 1126571A
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- Prior art keywords
- tea
- bed
- water
- extract
- soluble
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23F—COFFEE; TEA; THEIR SUBSTITUTES; MANUFACTURE, PREPARATION, OR INFUSION THEREOF
- A23F3/00—Tea; Tea substitutes; Preparations thereof
- A23F3/40—Tea flavour; Tea oil; Flavouring of tea or tea extract
- A23F3/42—Isolation or recuperation of tea flavour or tea oil
- A23F3/426—Isolation or recuperation of tea flavour or tea oil by distillation, e.g. stripping leaves; Recovering volatile gases
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23F—COFFEE; TEA; THEIR SUBSTITUTES; MANUFACTURE, PREPARATION, OR INFUSION THEREOF
- A23F3/00—Tea; Tea substitutes; Preparations thereof
- A23F3/16—Tea extraction; Tea extracts; Treating tea extract; Making instant tea
- A23F3/18—Extraction of water soluble tea constituents
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- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
- Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
- Tea And Coffee (AREA)
Abstract
IMPROVED LOW-TEMPERATURE
STEAM DESORBATE PROCESS
FOR IMPROVED INSTANT TEA
Abstract A stable water-soluble Desorbate instant tea having a flavor, aroma, appearance and chemical composi-tion approximating that of fresh expertly brewed tea is made by a process comprising passing steam at reduced pressures through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves to pre-wet and pre-swell an upper portion of said leaves; and then passing water and wet steam at reduced pressures and low temperatures through said bed to desorb and extract from said tea leaves an aqueous tea extract while maintaining a weight ratio of said extract to dry tea leaves of from about 0.5:1 to about 3:1, and collecting said extract in a cold trap. Decreaming of the extract prepared by this process is not necessary to provide a water-soluble dry instant tea which, upon reconstitution in water, provides an iced beverage that tastes like an iced tea made from fresh, expertly brewed tea. The solu-bility and solution stability of the Desorbate tea of this invention are surprisingly improved by treat-ing the process water with a minor amount of a higher chain polyphosphate glass, a bisulfite, a sulfite and/or a suitable carrageenan.
STEAM DESORBATE PROCESS
FOR IMPROVED INSTANT TEA
Abstract A stable water-soluble Desorbate instant tea having a flavor, aroma, appearance and chemical composi-tion approximating that of fresh expertly brewed tea is made by a process comprising passing steam at reduced pressures through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves to pre-wet and pre-swell an upper portion of said leaves; and then passing water and wet steam at reduced pressures and low temperatures through said bed to desorb and extract from said tea leaves an aqueous tea extract while maintaining a weight ratio of said extract to dry tea leaves of from about 0.5:1 to about 3:1, and collecting said extract in a cold trap. Decreaming of the extract prepared by this process is not necessary to provide a water-soluble dry instant tea which, upon reconstitution in water, provides an iced beverage that tastes like an iced tea made from fresh, expertly brewed tea. The solu-bility and solution stability of the Desorbate tea of this invention are surprisingly improved by treat-ing the process water with a minor amount of a higher chain polyphosphate glass, a bisulfite, a sulfite and/or a suitable carrageenan.
Description
57~
- IMPROVED LOW-TE~lPER~TURE
- STEA~1 DESORBATE PROCESS
-- FOR IMPROVED INSTANT TEA
Rudolf Gottfried Karl Strobel , ~.
Background of the Prior Art There are several processes for making instant tea. An excellent reference is a book entitlea Tea and Soluble Tea Products Manufacture by Nicholas D.
Pintauro, Noyes Data Corp., Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1977, Food Technology Review No. 38.
U.S. Patent 4,004,038, January 18, 1977, to Wickre~asinghe, discloses cold soluble tea concen-trates and powders prepared by extracting tea leaves with hot water and selectively removing nonpolyphenolic, high molecular weight compounds from the tea extract while retaining the phenolic compounds therein and concentrating the resultant extract.
~, U.S. Patent 2,970,328 to Melzard, Kendall and Karas, April 4, 1961, discloses the use of short -~ chain polyphosphates to prepare a soluble tea concen-,~ trate wherein the tea leaves are extracted with ho-t . water and polyphosphate is added to the aqueous tea ..,:.;
ex-tract to combine with substantially all of the calcium ions that will be presen-t in the final tea beverage. But the tea beverage made by Melzard et al does not taste good due to the large amounts of the polyphosphate additives required to combine with the calcium ions present in most tap waters.
Like polyphosphates, sodium bisulfi-te is known in instant tea processing art to have certain advan-tages and disadvantages. In a proce~s described - I. I. Herz, U.S. Patent 2,831,772, April 22, 1958, v~ assigned to Afico SA, a corporation of Switzerland, it is used to make "a highly concentrated tea essence that readily dissoLves in cold water" for making iced ~k .,~ .
` ~12~5'71 tea. The "method comprises preparing a hot clear - liquid tea essence from tea leaves... and dissolving in said aqueous tea essence an amount of a systemi-cally innocuous sulfite to render soluble in cold water the ordinarily cold water insoluble fraction of the tea essence and concentrating....". I^~ile this patent teaches the use of bisulfite in hot tea extrac-tion processes, resulting in cold water soluble tea products, many valuable tea aroma and flavor compounds are lost or destroyed. Like the Melzard et al. patent, the levels of additive 5bisulfite) taught in Herz adversely affect delicate tea flavor and aroma balance.
Such processes remove and/or alter natural tea components.
In my U.S. Patents ~os. 3,997,685, December 1~ 14, 1976, and 3,717,472, Feb. 20, 1973, in E~le 7 the preparation of a Desorbate tea flavor concentrate is taught.
, Tne processes taught in my said patents as they rela'te to tea require an excessive amount of time and water to provide the tea product. These prior art processes teach excessive times and draw-off ratios which yield tea solids concentrations too low in the initial aqueous tea extracts for successful drying. In other 25' words, vastly more time and water are needed for prior art tea desorption processes and when concentrated or dried for a final product much tea flavor and aroma and desired product density are lost.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention - 30 to provide an improved desorption process for making an initial aqueous tea extract which has an acceptable tea solids concentration of about 8~ or more.
It is another object of the present invention to provide productive processes for high fidelity .instant teas.
Another object is to upgrade taste and flavor of instant teas and provide a good-looking cup of tea ,B
11~ti~'71 that tastes li~e freshly brewed tea, but is less bitter and less astringent than freshly brewed tea.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide instants which are cold water soluble and have solution stability for iced tea beverages.
Brief Summary of Invention ~ n improved stable cool water-soluble instant tea described by tea-drin~ing panelists as brewlike/
tealike, having a better overall flavor and flavor strength than known commercial instant teas, is made by a process comprising the steps of:
(1) passing steam through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a tempera~
ture of below about 65C and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
- IMPROVED LOW-TE~lPER~TURE
- STEA~1 DESORBATE PROCESS
-- FOR IMPROVED INSTANT TEA
Rudolf Gottfried Karl Strobel , ~.
Background of the Prior Art There are several processes for making instant tea. An excellent reference is a book entitlea Tea and Soluble Tea Products Manufacture by Nicholas D.
Pintauro, Noyes Data Corp., Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1977, Food Technology Review No. 38.
U.S. Patent 4,004,038, January 18, 1977, to Wickre~asinghe, discloses cold soluble tea concen-trates and powders prepared by extracting tea leaves with hot water and selectively removing nonpolyphenolic, high molecular weight compounds from the tea extract while retaining the phenolic compounds therein and concentrating the resultant extract.
~, U.S. Patent 2,970,328 to Melzard, Kendall and Karas, April 4, 1961, discloses the use of short -~ chain polyphosphates to prepare a soluble tea concen-,~ trate wherein the tea leaves are extracted with ho-t . water and polyphosphate is added to the aqueous tea ..,:.;
ex-tract to combine with substantially all of the calcium ions that will be presen-t in the final tea beverage. But the tea beverage made by Melzard et al does not taste good due to the large amounts of the polyphosphate additives required to combine with the calcium ions present in most tap waters.
Like polyphosphates, sodium bisulfi-te is known in instant tea processing art to have certain advan-tages and disadvantages. In a proce~s described - I. I. Herz, U.S. Patent 2,831,772, April 22, 1958, v~ assigned to Afico SA, a corporation of Switzerland, it is used to make "a highly concentrated tea essence that readily dissoLves in cold water" for making iced ~k .,~ .
` ~12~5'71 tea. The "method comprises preparing a hot clear - liquid tea essence from tea leaves... and dissolving in said aqueous tea essence an amount of a systemi-cally innocuous sulfite to render soluble in cold water the ordinarily cold water insoluble fraction of the tea essence and concentrating....". I^~ile this patent teaches the use of bisulfite in hot tea extrac-tion processes, resulting in cold water soluble tea products, many valuable tea aroma and flavor compounds are lost or destroyed. Like the Melzard et al. patent, the levels of additive 5bisulfite) taught in Herz adversely affect delicate tea flavor and aroma balance.
Such processes remove and/or alter natural tea components.
In my U.S. Patents ~os. 3,997,685, December 1~ 14, 1976, and 3,717,472, Feb. 20, 1973, in E~le 7 the preparation of a Desorbate tea flavor concentrate is taught.
, Tne processes taught in my said patents as they rela'te to tea require an excessive amount of time and water to provide the tea product. These prior art processes teach excessive times and draw-off ratios which yield tea solids concentrations too low in the initial aqueous tea extracts for successful drying. In other 25' words, vastly more time and water are needed for prior art tea desorption processes and when concentrated or dried for a final product much tea flavor and aroma and desired product density are lost.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention - 30 to provide an improved desorption process for making an initial aqueous tea extract which has an acceptable tea solids concentration of about 8~ or more.
It is another object of the present invention to provide productive processes for high fidelity .instant teas.
Another object is to upgrade taste and flavor of instant teas and provide a good-looking cup of tea ,B
11~ti~'71 that tastes li~e freshly brewed tea, but is less bitter and less astringent than freshly brewed tea.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide instants which are cold water soluble and have solution stability for iced tea beverages.
Brief Summary of Invention ~ n improved stable cool water-soluble instant tea described by tea-drin~ing panelists as brewlike/
tealike, having a better overall flavor and flavor strength than known commercial instant teas, is made by a process comprising the steps of:
(1) passing steam through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a tempera~
ture of below about 65C and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly pas~ing water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea 25 leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about 1/2 of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then maintaining a temperature in said bed below about 72C; and
(3) collecting said initial aqueous tea e~-tract in a cold trap to provide said improved water-soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a te.-..perature from about -180C to about 20C.
Chemically, the beverage prepared from the extract resembles freshly brewed tea and contains flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, etc., in approximately the same relative amounts, according to molecular weight distribution and other analytical data, as does freshly brewed tea.
~B
~71 _ srief Description of the Drawings ....
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram in cross section of an apparatus adapted to carrying out Desorbate tea extraction. Column section 3 is covered with a lid 10 and supported by a bottom section 1.
The column section 3 and the bottom section 1 are separated by a false bottom 6 which is covered with a retaining layer 12 which is composed of cheese-cloth, nylon or a stainless steel screen or the like.
When column section 3 is charged with substrate tea 15, vacuum 17 is applied through condenser 4 which is submerged in a coolant 5, e.g. liquid nitrogen or dry ice. Solenoid valves 13 are used to regula-te the inlet flow rates of steam 14, carbon dioxide 2, inert gas 9, and water 18; steam and water are applied through a nozzle s~stem 11. A condenser inlet war~er 8 prevents frost from plugging up the inlet to the con-denser. Flanges 7 hold the various sections and parts -~ of the apparatus together.
.~ 20 Fiyure 2 is a detailed schematic in cross ~, section of condenser inlet warmer 8. Tap water inlet _ 20 enters inlet warmer 8 and passes through chanlber 21 _ which jackets the tubing 22 which is a conduit for the initial aqueous tea extract condensate 2~ to pass from 2~ the bottom section 1 of Figure 1 into the condenser ~.
The tap water exits through outlet 23.
Figures 3a-3d show chromatographic elution dla-grams of the molecular weight distribution of tea compo-nents of Desorbate tea, freshly brewed tea, and two conventional cold water soluble instan~ teas, respectively.
Detailed Descrip~ion of Invention ~' Preferred embodiments of the present invention ,.
include said summarized process wherein said pre-wetted and pre-sweLlecl upper portion is about 1 to about 30~ of said bed; and most preferabl~ wherein 11;~6~7~
said pre-wetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about -; 10 to about 25% of said bed; and wherein said bed temp-- erature is held below 55C; and wherein said bed and said cold trap are both held at an absolute pressure 5 of from about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar and - at a temperature of below about 55C and said cold trap at a temperature below about 10C and a pressure of below about 400 mbar, and wherein said draw-off ratio is from about 0.9:1 to about 2.5:1; and more preferably z 10 wherein said bed is held at an absolute pressure of about 25 mbar to about 300 mbar; and wherein said ,A cold trap temperature is below about -60C; or wherein said bed has an initial temperature of about 10C
and said cold trap has an ini-tial temperature cold 15 enough to trap a steam-water desorbed tea aroma and flavor fraction in the form of a frost. Another : preferred embodiment includes said process wherein 'r C2 gas is pulsed through said bed during steps (1) -, and (2) to increase extrac-tion yields; and wherein 20 said initial aqueous tea extract is dried to provide , a stable, cool (20-25C) soft water soluble instant ,,, tea, which upon reconstitution provides a tea beverage . that tastes like a fresh, expertly brewed tea drink, - said reconstituted tea beverage remaining soluble at 25 iced tea temperatures. Of course, a small amount of water can be used with said steam to pre-wet and pre-swell the dry tea leaves in step (1).
Further, "decreaming" of the extract prepared by this process is not necessary to provide a cool 30 water-soluble concentrate or dry product. Concentra-tion or drying of the extract provides a product which dissolves in hot or cool water to yive a clear tea beverage that tastes, smells, and looks freshly brewed.
Chemically, the beveraye prepared from the extract resembles freshly Drewed tea and contains f]avanols, theaflavins, thearubiyins, caffeine, amino acids, etc., ~i 5~ :
in approximately the same relative amounts, according to molecular weight distribution data, as does freshly ; brewed tea.
Pre-wetting and pre-swelling the dry ground tea leaves in the column before the actual wet-steam water desorption is critical. A typical run with pre-swelling will yield 17~ recovery of tea solids at 8.6% concentration when the draw-off ratio is about 2:1. On the other hand, if pre-~etting and pre-swelling are omitted, a high draw-off ratio of abou-t 5:1 is required to get an acceptable yield which results in concentrations of less than 8%. In other words, vastly more water is needed for desorption without pre-wetting and pre-swelling. A recovery of an initial e~tract having a concentration of at least about 8~ is important to getting a preferred final dried product having a preferred density of about 0.05 to 0~15 g/cc, and preferably 0.08 to about 0.12.
- It should be noted that abou-t 30~ of the tea bed could be pre-wetted and pre-swelled. Prefer-ably, less than the upper quarter and as little as the _ upper 5~ or 10% of the bed is pre-wetted and pre-swelled.
- The Desorbate tea of this invention is com-,.~,, ~ pletely soluble in cool (20-25C) distilled wa-ter .~ 25 which can then be iced. ~lowever, its solubility in cool tap water ranges from satisfactory in relatively soft tap water (4 grain ) to less satisfactory in harder tap water (7 grain and higher) in which a slightly cloudy iced beverage is obtained. Cloudiness increases upon standing, especially in the harder waters.
~ne importance of maintaining mild desorption ~~ temperatures is re-emphasized. Low mild temperatures below ~5C and preferably below 55C should be main-tained during at least the first half of a tea desorp-tion run. Whereas coffee desorption can be advanta-yeously executed at temperatures over 65C, it has been :;~
discovered that by keeping the temperature below 65C
and preferably belor~7 5~C during the first 1/2 of a tea run, results in a dried instant tea with a milder and smooth2r flavor which surprisingly e~hibits im-~roved solubility in cooler water.
The cold, nard water solubility of t~eDesorbate tea of this invention is surprisingly further improved by treating the process water with a minor but effective amount of an edible water-soluble additive selected from the group consisting of suitable higher chain polyphos~hates, sulfites, bisulfites and suitable carrageenans. A preferred additive is a low-calcium la~da-carrageenan. More preferred are alkali metal or ammoniu~L sulfite and bisulfite. Most ?referred of these is sodium bisulfite which is used at a level of 0.005% to 3.5%, most ~referably at 0~01o to ¢.04~
in the process water. Low-calcium lambda-carrageenan is also used at a level of 0.005% to 0.5%, and pre-ferably at 0.01~ to 0.02?~, in the process water.
The cold, hard water solubilit~ and solution stability of Desorbate tea pr2pared by the process of this invention are best improved by treating the process water with a minor but effective amount of a higher chain water soluble polyphosphate.
As used herein, a higher chain polyphosphate contains about lS to 100 phosphorus atoms per molecule.
Most preferable is Glass ~, which ave,ages 21 phos-phorus atoms per molecule. Preferred polyphosphate treated ~,~ater contains from about 0.005% to about 0.3-~
of said polyprhosphate; and most pref2rcbly said pol~-phosphate treated water contains from about 0.01% to about 0.14~ of said polyphosphate. An additional advantage is seen if a li~tle pol~pnospnate ~7at~-r is sprinkled on a lo,wer portion (5 or 10 -0) of the t2a bed when loading the desorption column before ste-aming The structure of the prefer~ed additiv poLy-p~Losphate, also referred to as sodium pnos?hatr gl~ss, may be reprQsent2d ~s follo~:
A
-o ~o `\ o 1, i ~ ! ~
NaO-p-o _p_o~ -D-O~Ta Na n-2 Na Glass h~ the most preferred polyphosphat2, has a chain length of n = 21. Glass ~ may be obtained co~er-cially from F~IC Corporation, Inorganic Cnemical Division, 633 Third Avenue, New York 10017.
A further description of "~lass H" is given in ~ Corporation's Technical 1~ Bulletin 570-6A - "~SS H" - to which the reader is referred for det~ls.
It has beenfound that the use of polyphosphates of a higner average chain length than "~exaphos"*(13 phosphorus atoms) is critlcal to the preparation Oc Desorbate tea ~Ihich is soluble in cold, hard ~Tater and at the same time retains a clean, fresh brewed tea-like flavor, e.g., Desorbate tea made with process water which con-tains 0.02% by weight of Glass h~ gives a cléar solution in cool (- 20C), hard (~ 9 grain) T.~aier, but the sane water needs nearly 1~ "He~aphos" to achieve this result, and the latter level of "Hexaphos" adversely affects the tea flavor. Additionally, "He.caphos" does not main-tain clarity of solution (solution stability) upon standing, whereas Glass h~ does. Of course, other long chain polyphosphates T~hich are edible and soluble in water other than Glass ~ are use'ul in the practice of the present invention.
Exar.ples ~he folloT~ing exz~les furth2r illustrate t~e best modes currently contem?lated _or carrying out t;.e /; 30 present inventio.~, DUt must not 'oe construed as limit-ing the pre~ent invention in an unreasonabl2 r.ann2r.
* Trademark ~XAr~lP~
Desorbate Tea Pre?aration One-half kg of a tea blend consisting of 60%
Ceylon BOP, 30% Ken~a BOP, and 10% India ~ssam BOP
f black teas, was ground on an American Duplex mill.
The particle size distribution is shown in the table --- following below.
Tea Particle Size Distribution ~fter Grinding Mesh Size Ground Tea Particles in Microns in '~ _ __ _ 1680 0.0 1190 0 . 5 850 14.0 1559C 32.
~,20 25.2 - 300 14.0 ., .
183 9.2 -125 2.5 pan 2.0 . . .
.~,~ The particle size distribution shown in the ",~ table above is to be maintained within a + 15%
deviation limit in the 85~ to 420~ range in order to maintain proper flo~7 rates during the desorption steps of processi.ng.
Before loading a 13 cm diameter desorption column with the ground tea, a retaining layer consist-'1 ing of a nylon netting and 8 layers of cheesecloth were placed on top of tne false bottom to prevent the ~ 30 falling of fine tea particles into the condenser.
The retaining layers were ~ietted lightly with ~later .~
immediately be~ore loading the column.
The ground tea ~7as put into the coLumn and spread out evenly to obtain a substrc~te bed of uniform height throuc3'nout.
~ 2~S~l :
The column lid ~J2S lowered and the column -- evacuated to 5 mbar ~millibars). ~t this point the - column e~it valve was closed and steam was applied ,,u throllgh the nozzle system to pre-swell the uppermost layers of the tea bed. Steam was applied until the pressure was increased to ~0 mbar. The pressure was then further increased to 130 mbar by applying gaseous C02 through the CO2 valve located in the lid section~
Boiling water was then applied in spurts through the water valve, a solenoid valve, actuated -- by a pre-programmed audio tape system.
The spurts of water we're programmed in such a way to permit the application of 2 liters of water to the tea bed in 33 minutes time. Details about the water appiication, bed temperatures, head space temperatures of the column and the condenser and the vacuum in the column head are shown in Table I.
. . .
,, Table I
;, . .
-~ , Desorption Parameters , ,~, 20 Time Col. Temperatu-e, C Water added ,;j_ in Head Column Condenser to column ~ Minutes mbar Head Bed Head in ml i . ,, _ _ ~ Start35 25 24 -46 000 i.~ .
, ~ 25 005 165 51 50 -23 500 .,~ .
-~ The valve located between the condenser and .,~
the vacuum pump was closed during the water/steam applications except for appro~imately 5 minu~es to assure the condens,ing of the hignly volatile tea ; aroma compounds.
The extract exiting the column was 1120 grams containing 9.6% tea solids, thus amounting to a solids yield of 21.5% at a draw-off ratio of 2.24:1 (weight of extract/weight of tea leaves).
The extract was condensed under cryogenic conditions (liquid nitrog2n bath) in a five-inch(13 cm) diameter condenser. After completion of the run the ~acuum of the condenser was released with gaseous nitrogen applied through the nitrogen valve in the condenser lid.
The frozen initial aqueous extract condensate was then removed from the condenser and placed into a plastic bag. The frozen extract was then worked to a plastic consistency. The tea extract was then re-frozen over a one-hour periOd at temperatures start-ing at -20~C and decreasins to -100C.
The frozen concentrate was then crushed, gr~ on a "Buss Condux"* mill, sieved and the particles ranging ~rom 850 microns to 280~ microns were freeze-dried.
The resulting dry tea product was solublein cool water and showed a good amber/red tea color.
Contrary to conventional instant hot tea, which turns to a gray color when adding milk, hot Desorbate tea showed a good whitish amber color, just as does a ~reshly brewed hot beverage prepared from tea leaves upon adding milk. The Desorbate tea of this invention makes an excellent hot tea beverage.
- The flavor of the beverage was described by ,, .
an expert taste panel as mild, non-astringent, non-bitter, with a good pleasing tea aroma and flavor.
The panel also rated the Desorbate tea beverage higher in tea characteristics than a tea beverage brewed freshly from a good blend of Orange Pekoe and Pekoe cut black tea leaves.
The cold Desorbate tea beverage was clear for approximately 5 minutes after prepara~ion even upon addition of ice to the water. After standing for B *Trademark 1~2~571-more than 5 minutes the cold beverage, the same as a tea beverage prepared from tea leaves, turns increas-ingly cloudy but does not cream like freshly brewed tea.
Table II
Desorbate Tea Solubility ~; H2OTemp.C. Solubility Color Distilled 70 Clear Normal Tap 12 gr. 70 Clear Darker Distilled 12 Clear Normal 10 Tap 4 gr. 25 Clear Normal Tap 8 gr. 25 Slight Darker haze Tap 12 gr. 25 Slight Darker ; haze - 15 Tap 4 gr. 12 Slight Normal haze Tap 8 gr. 12 Cloudy Darker Tap 14 gr. 12~ Cloudy Darker Six hundred mg of dry Desorbate tea was dis-so]ved in 150 ml of water of the temperatures and hardnesses indicated in Table II. The terms "slignt haze" and "cloudy", as used herein, are to be dis-,~ tinguished from phase separation, often referred to ~ as "creaming" or precipitate forrnation, and mean ~~ 25 "substantially soluble".
EX~PLE II
~ nother Desorbate tea was prepared usingmaterial and processing conditions set out in Example I, except that fifty grams of the ground tea were put into the column and spread out evenly on the retaining layer. This layer of tea was then sprayed uniformly with 20 ml of water containing 22.5 mg of Glass ~, a polyphosphate with an average chain length of 21 phosphorus atoms.
Then the remaining 450 grams of the ground tea were put on top of the tea layer spraved with Glass The kea was distributed evenly to obtain a substrate bed of uniform height throughout.
,, .
,~
i57~L -.
_la_ The column lid was placed onto tlle column section and the column evacuated to 5 m~ar. At this point the column exit valve was closed and steam was applied through the nozzle system to pre-s-~ell the uppermost layers of the tea bed. Steam was applied until the pressure was increased to 80 ~ar. The pressure was then further increased to 130 mbar by applying gaseous CO2 througn the CO2 valve located in the-lid section.
Boiling distilled water containing 0.03%
Glass-~' a polyphosphate, was then applied in spurts.
, ,.
See Table III.
.."~
, .,~
Table III
Desorptior ~-ra~meters . .
Time Head Te ~ Water in Va~uum Column Condenser Added to Min. _in mba Head Bed ~ea__ Col. in ml 000 120 54 59 ~l ooo 010 ~0 46 45 " 650 015 40 42 45 " 800 020 33 gl 41 " 950 b25 gO Sl 45 " 1100 030 80 51 49 " 1300 035 80 52 50 " 1500 040 113 52 52 " 1800 043 80 52 52 " 1800 The extract exiting the column was 989 g at 8.6% concentration. This results in a solids yield based on tea leaves of 17~ at a draw-off ratio of 1.98:1 (weight of e~tract/weight of tea leaves).
~., , ~, Desorbate tea beverage made with the product of Example II was clear after preparation and, con-trary to freshly bre~ed tea or Desorbate tea prepared without acldition of Glass-h~, did not develop any cloudiness upon addition of ice or standing for 3 hours at room temperature.
- ,~
, ;. -:. ' `~
~ EX~IPLE III
- ~ Another Desorbate tea was prepared using a tea blend, the processing conditions and equipment substantially tne same as those used in Example II.
S However, more tea leaves, lO kg, a larger desorption column, 60 cm diameter, and a larger trap, 30 cm diameter condenser, were used. The condenser trap was submerged in a liquid nitrogen bath. ?he time of the run was about 27 minutes. The process water used was about 21 liters containing about 0.03%
Glass- ~. The draw-off ratio was about l:l; yield 11.3%.
s The initial aqueous tea extract was about lO liters .*
(11.3% solids) was immediately removed from the con-denser to a plastic bag, worked to plasticity (20 minutes) and frozen solid in about 4 hours. Tne solid was cold ground, sieved to get particles of 850 to 2800 microns, and freeze dr ed. This product -~ was less soluble in cold water than the one oE
' '~75 Example II. ~his ~roduct dcnsity ~as a~out 0.~3~ g/cc.
_~ 20 _X~MPLE IV
' ~J The same as Example III except that the '~,f plasticized initial aqueous tea extract was frozen "~ , solid within a period of about 5 minutes with liquid ~-- nitrogen. This Desorbate tea was soluble in cold hard water and showed solution stability upon addition of ice or upon standing at room temperature for three hours.
Thus, a surprising improvement in cold water solubility was noted when the initial aqueous e~tract was collected under cryogenic or frigid conditions and - promptly worked up, fast frozen and freeze dried. In , general, it is preferred that the work-up time allowed : for r~noving the initial aqueous extract from the condenser in these runs and freezing it to a solid is less than an hour and preferabl~ within 40 minutes.
Surprising also is an improvement in cold hard water solution stability when a polyphosphate "._j ..,..,.. 11~7.~', ' -treated process water is used and the resultant '' initial aqueous extract is fast frozen and freeze dried.
., E,`,~lPLE V
',, Another Desorbate tea was prepared using ~-, 5 the procedure set out in Example II, except that the Glass- ~ treated water was replaced with process ,water containing 0.03% of sodium bisulfite and 0.01%
of low-calcium la~bda-carrageenan. Solids concentra--, tion of the initial aqueous extract was 8%; dra~ of~
" 10 ratio 2.68:1; yield 20.9%; dry density about 0.05 g/cc.
,,:, This Desorbate tea showed an improved cold ~ ~ tap (9 grain) water solubility,similar to the Glass-~
;" Desorbate tea. -, . ... . . .
: "~i, . . .
EXAMPLE VI
" v ~'~ 15 Samples of freshly brewed tea were made and '':i,' tested for molecular weight distribution using the '~', following procedure:
'I ~,, Four grams of the tea blend used in Examples, '~,,;,.'i,- I-V were steeped in 150 ml of distilled water for S
, , 20 minutes. Ten ml of this brew containin~ about 59 mg of tea solids was applied to a Sephadex~ G 25,,300,~
~,particle size,with a bed height of 43 cm and a 2 cm ~ ' diameter. The molecular weight distribution of the ',~ ~ . ~ea solids contained in this brew were developed using ~" ~ 25 the solvent systems shown in Table IV.
' Table IV
~' ' 'Solvent Systems for ~1 Sephadex Chromatogra~hy UV
~ ' Solvent Ml Used Temp. o Column .~easurement ,'~, ,' ~ 30 Distilled 250 22C 280 nm water ' Water/ 200 50C 280 nm ethanol 35 Water/ 100 50C 280 nm ethanol/
ethylacetate 1:2:3 ~,.s,~
, ' r','' i ' ~' ~ /
;"',' ~
'."," ' .: , f ,' '., ''~'',:, ' : ' .. .
571~
The tea sollds were con-tinuously monitored through an ISCO ~lodel UA2, ultraviolet analyzer at 280 nm. Tlle UV measurements were printed out on a recorder. The print-out c~lrve obtained is shown in Figure 3b. This curve is compared to the curves of Examples VII-IX.
EXP~1PL~S VII-IX
100 mg each of the freeze-dried Desorbate tea of Example IV, Nestea~)instant and Lipton~
instant teas were each dissolved in 2 ml of distilled wa'er at 50C and each applied to the Se~hade column for analysis as in Exampie VI for their molecular weight distributions. Their molecular weight distributions are respectively shown in Figures 3a, 3c and 3d.
The retention time of the curves indicates the relative molecular weight distribution of the tea solids tested. The area under the curves is an indi-cation of tne quantity o~ the molecular weight species.
P. direct comparison of the various tea samples is , . . .
; made by comparing tne relative ratios of the various .. peaks. The species with the highest molecular weight - exit the Sephade $ column first and are shown on the - i~5 ~~ left hand side of Eigures 3.
Curves 3a and 3b possess a qualitative and quantitative similarity which connotes the chemical and flavor similarity of Desorbate tea and fresh expertly brewed tea,in sharp contrast to the curves of the conventional instant teas.
EX~iPLE X
~, Blind Iced Tea Taste Test In order to assess the brew~ e flavor of Desorbate tea of E~ample III, the following blind taste test was conducted:
Three iced tea beverages were prepared:
~1 Desorbate tea of Example III, 0.5 g in 150 ml of water.
~2 Nestea~ inst,ant tea, 0.5 g in 150 ml of water.
, ,~
-- -- - .
l~Z65~7~
.
S ~3 Freshly brewed tea, from bags con~aining a Lipton~ tea blend, one bag per lS0 ml hot water steeped for three minutes, then poured over ice.
,.~.., ~ ach iced tea beverage was tasted by a random panel of women who are iced tea drinkers. For each beverage, the panelists then were asked to judge the tea as brewed or instant. Table V shows the results of this test.
, .
Table V
Usual Method of Iced Tea Preparation Drinkers of - Brewed InstantTotal ~71 panelists) (29 panelists) (100 panelists?
, .
- Thought Product Xl 63~ 59~ 62%
was brewed ; Thought ` Product ~2 28% 41~ 32%
-~ was brewed , ~,; .
~ Thought __ 25 Product X3 63~ 41% 57%
~ was brewed ~ , The results of this blind test demonstrate the authen-`, tic brew-like flavor of iced Desorbate tea. Note that the instant tea panelists judged the iced Desorbate tea taste as more like freshly brewed tea than freshly brewed tea itself. The brewed tea panelists judged the Desorbate tea taste as brew-like as the freshly brewed tea itself. Note that the panelists are subdivided into brewed tea drinkers and instant tea drinkers. The ~'- 35 "Total" column shows the overall results of the test.
,:.............. ..
-., .,~
. . , . , ~ . .
.
Chemically, the beverage prepared from the extract resembles freshly brewed tea and contains flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, etc., in approximately the same relative amounts, according to molecular weight distribution and other analytical data, as does freshly brewed tea.
~B
~71 _ srief Description of the Drawings ....
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram in cross section of an apparatus adapted to carrying out Desorbate tea extraction. Column section 3 is covered with a lid 10 and supported by a bottom section 1.
The column section 3 and the bottom section 1 are separated by a false bottom 6 which is covered with a retaining layer 12 which is composed of cheese-cloth, nylon or a stainless steel screen or the like.
When column section 3 is charged with substrate tea 15, vacuum 17 is applied through condenser 4 which is submerged in a coolant 5, e.g. liquid nitrogen or dry ice. Solenoid valves 13 are used to regula-te the inlet flow rates of steam 14, carbon dioxide 2, inert gas 9, and water 18; steam and water are applied through a nozzle s~stem 11. A condenser inlet war~er 8 prevents frost from plugging up the inlet to the con-denser. Flanges 7 hold the various sections and parts -~ of the apparatus together.
.~ 20 Fiyure 2 is a detailed schematic in cross ~, section of condenser inlet warmer 8. Tap water inlet _ 20 enters inlet warmer 8 and passes through chanlber 21 _ which jackets the tubing 22 which is a conduit for the initial aqueous tea extract condensate 2~ to pass from 2~ the bottom section 1 of Figure 1 into the condenser ~.
The tap water exits through outlet 23.
Figures 3a-3d show chromatographic elution dla-grams of the molecular weight distribution of tea compo-nents of Desorbate tea, freshly brewed tea, and two conventional cold water soluble instan~ teas, respectively.
Detailed Descrip~ion of Invention ~' Preferred embodiments of the present invention ,.
include said summarized process wherein said pre-wetted and pre-sweLlecl upper portion is about 1 to about 30~ of said bed; and most preferabl~ wherein 11;~6~7~
said pre-wetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about -; 10 to about 25% of said bed; and wherein said bed temp-- erature is held below 55C; and wherein said bed and said cold trap are both held at an absolute pressure 5 of from about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar and - at a temperature of below about 55C and said cold trap at a temperature below about 10C and a pressure of below about 400 mbar, and wherein said draw-off ratio is from about 0.9:1 to about 2.5:1; and more preferably z 10 wherein said bed is held at an absolute pressure of about 25 mbar to about 300 mbar; and wherein said ,A cold trap temperature is below about -60C; or wherein said bed has an initial temperature of about 10C
and said cold trap has an ini-tial temperature cold 15 enough to trap a steam-water desorbed tea aroma and flavor fraction in the form of a frost. Another : preferred embodiment includes said process wherein 'r C2 gas is pulsed through said bed during steps (1) -, and (2) to increase extrac-tion yields; and wherein 20 said initial aqueous tea extract is dried to provide , a stable, cool (20-25C) soft water soluble instant ,,, tea, which upon reconstitution provides a tea beverage . that tastes like a fresh, expertly brewed tea drink, - said reconstituted tea beverage remaining soluble at 25 iced tea temperatures. Of course, a small amount of water can be used with said steam to pre-wet and pre-swell the dry tea leaves in step (1).
Further, "decreaming" of the extract prepared by this process is not necessary to provide a cool 30 water-soluble concentrate or dry product. Concentra-tion or drying of the extract provides a product which dissolves in hot or cool water to yive a clear tea beverage that tastes, smells, and looks freshly brewed.
Chemically, the beveraye prepared from the extract resembles freshly Drewed tea and contains f]avanols, theaflavins, thearubiyins, caffeine, amino acids, etc., ~i 5~ :
in approximately the same relative amounts, according to molecular weight distribution data, as does freshly ; brewed tea.
Pre-wetting and pre-swelling the dry ground tea leaves in the column before the actual wet-steam water desorption is critical. A typical run with pre-swelling will yield 17~ recovery of tea solids at 8.6% concentration when the draw-off ratio is about 2:1. On the other hand, if pre-~etting and pre-swelling are omitted, a high draw-off ratio of abou-t 5:1 is required to get an acceptable yield which results in concentrations of less than 8%. In other words, vastly more water is needed for desorption without pre-wetting and pre-swelling. A recovery of an initial e~tract having a concentration of at least about 8~ is important to getting a preferred final dried product having a preferred density of about 0.05 to 0~15 g/cc, and preferably 0.08 to about 0.12.
- It should be noted that abou-t 30~ of the tea bed could be pre-wetted and pre-swelled. Prefer-ably, less than the upper quarter and as little as the _ upper 5~ or 10% of the bed is pre-wetted and pre-swelled.
- The Desorbate tea of this invention is com-,.~,, ~ pletely soluble in cool (20-25C) distilled wa-ter .~ 25 which can then be iced. ~lowever, its solubility in cool tap water ranges from satisfactory in relatively soft tap water (4 grain ) to less satisfactory in harder tap water (7 grain and higher) in which a slightly cloudy iced beverage is obtained. Cloudiness increases upon standing, especially in the harder waters.
~ne importance of maintaining mild desorption ~~ temperatures is re-emphasized. Low mild temperatures below ~5C and preferably below 55C should be main-tained during at least the first half of a tea desorp-tion run. Whereas coffee desorption can be advanta-yeously executed at temperatures over 65C, it has been :;~
discovered that by keeping the temperature below 65C
and preferably belor~7 5~C during the first 1/2 of a tea run, results in a dried instant tea with a milder and smooth2r flavor which surprisingly e~hibits im-~roved solubility in cooler water.
The cold, nard water solubility of t~eDesorbate tea of this invention is surprisingly further improved by treating the process water with a minor but effective amount of an edible water-soluble additive selected from the group consisting of suitable higher chain polyphos~hates, sulfites, bisulfites and suitable carrageenans. A preferred additive is a low-calcium la~da-carrageenan. More preferred are alkali metal or ammoniu~L sulfite and bisulfite. Most ?referred of these is sodium bisulfite which is used at a level of 0.005% to 3.5%, most ~referably at 0~01o to ¢.04~
in the process water. Low-calcium lambda-carrageenan is also used at a level of 0.005% to 0.5%, and pre-ferably at 0.01~ to 0.02?~, in the process water.
The cold, hard water solubilit~ and solution stability of Desorbate tea pr2pared by the process of this invention are best improved by treating the process water with a minor but effective amount of a higher chain water soluble polyphosphate.
As used herein, a higher chain polyphosphate contains about lS to 100 phosphorus atoms per molecule.
Most preferable is Glass ~, which ave,ages 21 phos-phorus atoms per molecule. Preferred polyphosphate treated ~,~ater contains from about 0.005% to about 0.3-~
of said polyprhosphate; and most pref2rcbly said pol~-phosphate treated water contains from about 0.01% to about 0.14~ of said polyphosphate. An additional advantage is seen if a li~tle pol~pnospnate ~7at~-r is sprinkled on a lo,wer portion (5 or 10 -0) of the t2a bed when loading the desorption column before ste-aming The structure of the prefer~ed additiv poLy-p~Losphate, also referred to as sodium pnos?hatr gl~ss, may be reprQsent2d ~s follo~:
A
-o ~o `\ o 1, i ~ ! ~
NaO-p-o _p_o~ -D-O~Ta Na n-2 Na Glass h~ the most preferred polyphosphat2, has a chain length of n = 21. Glass ~ may be obtained co~er-cially from F~IC Corporation, Inorganic Cnemical Division, 633 Third Avenue, New York 10017.
A further description of "~lass H" is given in ~ Corporation's Technical 1~ Bulletin 570-6A - "~SS H" - to which the reader is referred for det~ls.
It has beenfound that the use of polyphosphates of a higner average chain length than "~exaphos"*(13 phosphorus atoms) is critlcal to the preparation Oc Desorbate tea ~Ihich is soluble in cold, hard ~Tater and at the same time retains a clean, fresh brewed tea-like flavor, e.g., Desorbate tea made with process water which con-tains 0.02% by weight of Glass h~ gives a cléar solution in cool (- 20C), hard (~ 9 grain) T.~aier, but the sane water needs nearly 1~ "He~aphos" to achieve this result, and the latter level of "Hexaphos" adversely affects the tea flavor. Additionally, "He.caphos" does not main-tain clarity of solution (solution stability) upon standing, whereas Glass h~ does. Of course, other long chain polyphosphates T~hich are edible and soluble in water other than Glass ~ are use'ul in the practice of the present invention.
Exar.ples ~he folloT~ing exz~les furth2r illustrate t~e best modes currently contem?lated _or carrying out t;.e /; 30 present inventio.~, DUt must not 'oe construed as limit-ing the pre~ent invention in an unreasonabl2 r.ann2r.
* Trademark ~XAr~lP~
Desorbate Tea Pre?aration One-half kg of a tea blend consisting of 60%
Ceylon BOP, 30% Ken~a BOP, and 10% India ~ssam BOP
f black teas, was ground on an American Duplex mill.
The particle size distribution is shown in the table --- following below.
Tea Particle Size Distribution ~fter Grinding Mesh Size Ground Tea Particles in Microns in '~ _ __ _ 1680 0.0 1190 0 . 5 850 14.0 1559C 32.
~,20 25.2 - 300 14.0 ., .
183 9.2 -125 2.5 pan 2.0 . . .
.~,~ The particle size distribution shown in the ",~ table above is to be maintained within a + 15%
deviation limit in the 85~ to 420~ range in order to maintain proper flo~7 rates during the desorption steps of processi.ng.
Before loading a 13 cm diameter desorption column with the ground tea, a retaining layer consist-'1 ing of a nylon netting and 8 layers of cheesecloth were placed on top of tne false bottom to prevent the ~ 30 falling of fine tea particles into the condenser.
The retaining layers were ~ietted lightly with ~later .~
immediately be~ore loading the column.
The ground tea ~7as put into the coLumn and spread out evenly to obtain a substrc~te bed of uniform height throuc3'nout.
~ 2~S~l :
The column lid ~J2S lowered and the column -- evacuated to 5 mbar ~millibars). ~t this point the - column e~it valve was closed and steam was applied ,,u throllgh the nozzle system to pre-swell the uppermost layers of the tea bed. Steam was applied until the pressure was increased to ~0 mbar. The pressure was then further increased to 130 mbar by applying gaseous C02 through the CO2 valve located in the lid section~
Boiling water was then applied in spurts through the water valve, a solenoid valve, actuated -- by a pre-programmed audio tape system.
The spurts of water we're programmed in such a way to permit the application of 2 liters of water to the tea bed in 33 minutes time. Details about the water appiication, bed temperatures, head space temperatures of the column and the condenser and the vacuum in the column head are shown in Table I.
. . .
,, Table I
;, . .
-~ , Desorption Parameters , ,~, 20 Time Col. Temperatu-e, C Water added ,;j_ in Head Column Condenser to column ~ Minutes mbar Head Bed Head in ml i . ,, _ _ ~ Start35 25 24 -46 000 i.~ .
, ~ 25 005 165 51 50 -23 500 .,~ .
-~ The valve located between the condenser and .,~
the vacuum pump was closed during the water/steam applications except for appro~imately 5 minu~es to assure the condens,ing of the hignly volatile tea ; aroma compounds.
The extract exiting the column was 1120 grams containing 9.6% tea solids, thus amounting to a solids yield of 21.5% at a draw-off ratio of 2.24:1 (weight of extract/weight of tea leaves).
The extract was condensed under cryogenic conditions (liquid nitrog2n bath) in a five-inch(13 cm) diameter condenser. After completion of the run the ~acuum of the condenser was released with gaseous nitrogen applied through the nitrogen valve in the condenser lid.
The frozen initial aqueous extract condensate was then removed from the condenser and placed into a plastic bag. The frozen extract was then worked to a plastic consistency. The tea extract was then re-frozen over a one-hour periOd at temperatures start-ing at -20~C and decreasins to -100C.
The frozen concentrate was then crushed, gr~ on a "Buss Condux"* mill, sieved and the particles ranging ~rom 850 microns to 280~ microns were freeze-dried.
The resulting dry tea product was solublein cool water and showed a good amber/red tea color.
Contrary to conventional instant hot tea, which turns to a gray color when adding milk, hot Desorbate tea showed a good whitish amber color, just as does a ~reshly brewed hot beverage prepared from tea leaves upon adding milk. The Desorbate tea of this invention makes an excellent hot tea beverage.
- The flavor of the beverage was described by ,, .
an expert taste panel as mild, non-astringent, non-bitter, with a good pleasing tea aroma and flavor.
The panel also rated the Desorbate tea beverage higher in tea characteristics than a tea beverage brewed freshly from a good blend of Orange Pekoe and Pekoe cut black tea leaves.
The cold Desorbate tea beverage was clear for approximately 5 minutes after prepara~ion even upon addition of ice to the water. After standing for B *Trademark 1~2~571-more than 5 minutes the cold beverage, the same as a tea beverage prepared from tea leaves, turns increas-ingly cloudy but does not cream like freshly brewed tea.
Table II
Desorbate Tea Solubility ~; H2OTemp.C. Solubility Color Distilled 70 Clear Normal Tap 12 gr. 70 Clear Darker Distilled 12 Clear Normal 10 Tap 4 gr. 25 Clear Normal Tap 8 gr. 25 Slight Darker haze Tap 12 gr. 25 Slight Darker ; haze - 15 Tap 4 gr. 12 Slight Normal haze Tap 8 gr. 12 Cloudy Darker Tap 14 gr. 12~ Cloudy Darker Six hundred mg of dry Desorbate tea was dis-so]ved in 150 ml of water of the temperatures and hardnesses indicated in Table II. The terms "slignt haze" and "cloudy", as used herein, are to be dis-,~ tinguished from phase separation, often referred to ~ as "creaming" or precipitate forrnation, and mean ~~ 25 "substantially soluble".
EX~PLE II
~ nother Desorbate tea was prepared usingmaterial and processing conditions set out in Example I, except that fifty grams of the ground tea were put into the column and spread out evenly on the retaining layer. This layer of tea was then sprayed uniformly with 20 ml of water containing 22.5 mg of Glass ~, a polyphosphate with an average chain length of 21 phosphorus atoms.
Then the remaining 450 grams of the ground tea were put on top of the tea layer spraved with Glass The kea was distributed evenly to obtain a substrate bed of uniform height throughout.
,, .
,~
i57~L -.
_la_ The column lid was placed onto tlle column section and the column evacuated to 5 m~ar. At this point the column exit valve was closed and steam was applied through the nozzle system to pre-s-~ell the uppermost layers of the tea bed. Steam was applied until the pressure was increased to 80 ~ar. The pressure was then further increased to 130 mbar by applying gaseous CO2 througn the CO2 valve located in the-lid section.
Boiling distilled water containing 0.03%
Glass-~' a polyphosphate, was then applied in spurts.
, ,.
See Table III.
.."~
, .,~
Table III
Desorptior ~-ra~meters . .
Time Head Te ~ Water in Va~uum Column Condenser Added to Min. _in mba Head Bed ~ea__ Col. in ml 000 120 54 59 ~l ooo 010 ~0 46 45 " 650 015 40 42 45 " 800 020 33 gl 41 " 950 b25 gO Sl 45 " 1100 030 80 51 49 " 1300 035 80 52 50 " 1500 040 113 52 52 " 1800 043 80 52 52 " 1800 The extract exiting the column was 989 g at 8.6% concentration. This results in a solids yield based on tea leaves of 17~ at a draw-off ratio of 1.98:1 (weight of e~tract/weight of tea leaves).
~., , ~, Desorbate tea beverage made with the product of Example II was clear after preparation and, con-trary to freshly bre~ed tea or Desorbate tea prepared without acldition of Glass-h~, did not develop any cloudiness upon addition of ice or standing for 3 hours at room temperature.
- ,~
, ;. -:. ' `~
~ EX~IPLE III
- ~ Another Desorbate tea was prepared using a tea blend, the processing conditions and equipment substantially tne same as those used in Example II.
S However, more tea leaves, lO kg, a larger desorption column, 60 cm diameter, and a larger trap, 30 cm diameter condenser, were used. The condenser trap was submerged in a liquid nitrogen bath. ?he time of the run was about 27 minutes. The process water used was about 21 liters containing about 0.03%
Glass- ~. The draw-off ratio was about l:l; yield 11.3%.
s The initial aqueous tea extract was about lO liters .*
(11.3% solids) was immediately removed from the con-denser to a plastic bag, worked to plasticity (20 minutes) and frozen solid in about 4 hours. Tne solid was cold ground, sieved to get particles of 850 to 2800 microns, and freeze dr ed. This product -~ was less soluble in cold water than the one oE
' '~75 Example II. ~his ~roduct dcnsity ~as a~out 0.~3~ g/cc.
_~ 20 _X~MPLE IV
' ~J The same as Example III except that the '~,f plasticized initial aqueous tea extract was frozen "~ , solid within a period of about 5 minutes with liquid ~-- nitrogen. This Desorbate tea was soluble in cold hard water and showed solution stability upon addition of ice or upon standing at room temperature for three hours.
Thus, a surprising improvement in cold water solubility was noted when the initial aqueous e~tract was collected under cryogenic or frigid conditions and - promptly worked up, fast frozen and freeze dried. In , general, it is preferred that the work-up time allowed : for r~noving the initial aqueous extract from the condenser in these runs and freezing it to a solid is less than an hour and preferabl~ within 40 minutes.
Surprising also is an improvement in cold hard water solution stability when a polyphosphate "._j ..,..,.. 11~7.~', ' -treated process water is used and the resultant '' initial aqueous extract is fast frozen and freeze dried.
., E,`,~lPLE V
',, Another Desorbate tea was prepared using ~-, 5 the procedure set out in Example II, except that the Glass- ~ treated water was replaced with process ,water containing 0.03% of sodium bisulfite and 0.01%
of low-calcium la~bda-carrageenan. Solids concentra--, tion of the initial aqueous extract was 8%; dra~ of~
" 10 ratio 2.68:1; yield 20.9%; dry density about 0.05 g/cc.
,,:, This Desorbate tea showed an improved cold ~ ~ tap (9 grain) water solubility,similar to the Glass-~
;" Desorbate tea. -, . ... . . .
: "~i, . . .
EXAMPLE VI
" v ~'~ 15 Samples of freshly brewed tea were made and '':i,' tested for molecular weight distribution using the '~', following procedure:
'I ~,, Four grams of the tea blend used in Examples, '~,,;,.'i,- I-V were steeped in 150 ml of distilled water for S
, , 20 minutes. Ten ml of this brew containin~ about 59 mg of tea solids was applied to a Sephadex~ G 25,,300,~
~,particle size,with a bed height of 43 cm and a 2 cm ~ ' diameter. The molecular weight distribution of the ',~ ~ . ~ea solids contained in this brew were developed using ~" ~ 25 the solvent systems shown in Table IV.
' Table IV
~' ' 'Solvent Systems for ~1 Sephadex Chromatogra~hy UV
~ ' Solvent Ml Used Temp. o Column .~easurement ,'~, ,' ~ 30 Distilled 250 22C 280 nm water ' Water/ 200 50C 280 nm ethanol 35 Water/ 100 50C 280 nm ethanol/
ethylacetate 1:2:3 ~,.s,~
, ' r','' i ' ~' ~ /
;"',' ~
'."," ' .: , f ,' '., ''~'',:, ' : ' .. .
571~
The tea sollds were con-tinuously monitored through an ISCO ~lodel UA2, ultraviolet analyzer at 280 nm. Tlle UV measurements were printed out on a recorder. The print-out c~lrve obtained is shown in Figure 3b. This curve is compared to the curves of Examples VII-IX.
EXP~1PL~S VII-IX
100 mg each of the freeze-dried Desorbate tea of Example IV, Nestea~)instant and Lipton~
instant teas were each dissolved in 2 ml of distilled wa'er at 50C and each applied to the Se~hade column for analysis as in Exampie VI for their molecular weight distributions. Their molecular weight distributions are respectively shown in Figures 3a, 3c and 3d.
The retention time of the curves indicates the relative molecular weight distribution of the tea solids tested. The area under the curves is an indi-cation of tne quantity o~ the molecular weight species.
P. direct comparison of the various tea samples is , . . .
; made by comparing tne relative ratios of the various .. peaks. The species with the highest molecular weight - exit the Sephade $ column first and are shown on the - i~5 ~~ left hand side of Eigures 3.
Curves 3a and 3b possess a qualitative and quantitative similarity which connotes the chemical and flavor similarity of Desorbate tea and fresh expertly brewed tea,in sharp contrast to the curves of the conventional instant teas.
EX~iPLE X
~, Blind Iced Tea Taste Test In order to assess the brew~ e flavor of Desorbate tea of E~ample III, the following blind taste test was conducted:
Three iced tea beverages were prepared:
~1 Desorbate tea of Example III, 0.5 g in 150 ml of water.
~2 Nestea~ inst,ant tea, 0.5 g in 150 ml of water.
, ,~
-- -- - .
l~Z65~7~
.
S ~3 Freshly brewed tea, from bags con~aining a Lipton~ tea blend, one bag per lS0 ml hot water steeped for three minutes, then poured over ice.
,.~.., ~ ach iced tea beverage was tasted by a random panel of women who are iced tea drinkers. For each beverage, the panelists then were asked to judge the tea as brewed or instant. Table V shows the results of this test.
, .
Table V
Usual Method of Iced Tea Preparation Drinkers of - Brewed InstantTotal ~71 panelists) (29 panelists) (100 panelists?
, .
- Thought Product Xl 63~ 59~ 62%
was brewed ; Thought ` Product ~2 28% 41~ 32%
-~ was brewed , ~,; .
~ Thought __ 25 Product X3 63~ 41% 57%
~ was brewed ~ , The results of this blind test demonstrate the authen-`, tic brew-like flavor of iced Desorbate tea. Note that the instant tea panelists judged the iced Desorbate tea taste as more like freshly brewed tea than freshly brewed tea itself. The brewed tea panelists judged the Desorbate tea taste as brew-like as the freshly brewed tea itself. Note that the panelists are subdivided into brewed tea drinkers and instant tea drinkers. The ~'- 35 "Total" column shows the overall results of the test.
,:.............. ..
-., .,~
. . , . , ~ . .
.
Claims (40)
1. A process for making an improved initial aqueous water soluble tea extract having improved overall fresh brewlike tealike aroma, flavor and flavor strength, said process comprising the steps of:
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite upper portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing substantially dry steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°F. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed at a flow rate that avoids flooding said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, continuing the application of said water and wet steam in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then maintaining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; and wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition, upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, and said tea extract is more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C. than freshly brewed tea, said reconstituted tea remaining substantially soluble upon cooling with ice.
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite upper portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing substantially dry steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°F. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed at a flow rate that avoids flooding said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, continuing the application of said water and wet steam in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then maintaining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; and wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition, upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, and said tea extract is more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C. than freshly brewed tea, said reconstituted tea remaining substantially soluble upon cooling with ice.
2. The process of claim 1 wherein said prewetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about 1 to about 30% of said bed.
3. The process of claim 1 wherein said pre-wetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about 10 to about 25% of said bed.
4. The process of claim 1 wherein said bed temperature during step (1) is held below 55°C. and the temperature of said cold trap is about -76°C. to about 0°C.
5. The process of claim 1 wherein said bed and said cold trap are both held at an absolute pressure of from about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar and said bed at a temperature of below about 55°C. during step (1) and said cold trap at a temperature below about 10°C and a pressure of below about 400 mbar, and wherein said draw-off ratio is from about 0.9:1 to about 2.5:1.
6. The process of claim 5 wherein said bed is held at an absolute pressure of about 25 mbar to about 300 mbar.
7. The process of claim 1 wherein said cold trap temperature is below about -60°C.
8. The process of claim 1, wherein said cold trap has an initial temperature cold enough to trap a steam-water desorbed tea aroma and flavor fraction in the form of a frost in said cold trap.
9. The process of claim 1 wherein an effective amount of CO2 gas is pulsed through said bed during steps (1) and (2) to increase extraction yields and improve tea aroma and flavor fidelity.
10. The process of claim 1 wherein said initial aqueous tea extract is dried to provide a stable water-soluble instant tea, which upon reconstitution provides a substantially clear tea beverage that tastes like a fresh expertly brewed tea drink, said reconstituted tea beverage remaining substantially soluble at iced tea temperatures.
11. The process of claim 10 wherein said initial aqueous tea extract is freeze dried.
12. An improved substantially dry water soluble tea composition made by the process of claim 1 which, upon reconstitution in water, comprises: flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, and wherein said composition has a density of about 0.05 to about 0.15 g/cc, and wherein said tea composition is more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C. than freshly brewed tea, and wherein said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon cooling with ice.
13. The water soluble tea extract of claim 12 wherein said compounds are quantitatively and qualitatively substantially the same as that of a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend as indicated by chemical/molecular weight distribution.
14. The improved water soluble tea extract of claim 12 wherein said tea is made by extracting ground tea leaves under low temperature and low pressure wet-steam conditions, collecting an initial aqueous extract under cryogenic conditions, freezing said aqueous extract solid, grinding and freeze drying to obtain said improved tea extract.
15. In a process for preparing a cold water soluble tea extract wherein an initial aqueous tea extract is prepared from water and ground tea leaves, the improvement comprising:
(1) treating said water with a minor but effective amount of a higher chain water soluble polyphosphate;
(2) extracting said ground tea leaves with said polyphosphate treated water, under low pressure and low temperature wet-steam conditions; and (3) collecting said aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide an improved cold water soluble tea extract, said amount of said polyphosphate being effective to make said initial aqueous tea extract and powdered extract made therefrom completely soluble in cold, hard water with sustained solution stability.
(1) treating said water with a minor but effective amount of a higher chain water soluble polyphosphate;
(2) extracting said ground tea leaves with said polyphosphate treated water, under low pressure and low temperature wet-steam conditions; and (3) collecting said aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide an improved cold water soluble tea extract, said amount of said polyphosphate being effective to make said initial aqueous tea extract and powdered extract made therefrom completely soluble in cold, hard water with sustained solution stability.
16. The process of claim 15 wherein said process comprises the steps of:
(1) passing steam through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing polyphosphate treated water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about 1/2 of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then maintaining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.
(1) passing steam through a columnar bed of ground tea leaves in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing polyphosphate treated water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about 1/2 of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then maintaining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.
17. The process of claim 15 wherein said higher chain polyphosphate has an average of from about 15 to about 30 phosphorus atoms, and wherein said polyphosphate-treated water contains from about 0.005% to about 0.3% of said polyphosphate.
18. The process of claim 17 wherein said polyphosphate-treated water contains from about 0.01% to about 0.1% of said polyphosphate.
19. The process of claim 16 wherein some of said polyphosphate-treated water is sprinkled on a lower portion of said bed.
20. The process of claim 16 wherein said pre-wetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about 1 to about 30% of said bed.
21. The process of claim 16 wherein said pre-wetted and pre-swelled upper portion is about 10 to about 25% of said bed.
22. The process of claim 15 wherein said bed and said cold trap are both held at an absolute pressure of from about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar and said bed at a temperature of below about 55°C. during step (1) and said cold trap at a temperature below about 10°C. and a pressure of below about 400 mbar, and wherein said draw-off ratio is from about 0.9:1 to about 2.5:1.
23. The process of claim 22 wherein said bed is held at an absolute pressure of about 25 mbar to about 300 mbar.
24. The process of claim 15 wherein said cold trap temperature is below about -60°C.
25. The process of claim 15 wherein said cold trap has an initial temperature cold enough to trap a steam-water desorbed tea aroma and flavor fraction in the form of a frost in said cold trap.
26. The process of claim 15 wherein an effective amount of CO2 gas is pulsed through said bed during steps (1) and (2) to increase extraction yields and improve tea aroma and flavor fidelity.
27. The process of claim 15 wherein said initial aqueous tea extract is dried to provide a stable water-soluble instant tea, which upon reconstitution provides a substantially clear tea beverage that tastes like a fresh expertly brewed tea drink, said reconstituted tea beverage remaining substantially soluble at iced tea temperatures.
28. The process of claim 15 wherein a minor amount of water is also used to pre-wet and pre-swell said upper portion of said ground tea leaves.
29. The process of claim 15 wherein said bed temper-ature during step (1) is held below 55°C. and the temperature of said cold trap is about -76°C. to about 0°c.
30. The product prepared by the process of claim 15 wherein said product is an improved water-soluble Desorbate tea extract which, upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, and wherein said Desorbate tea extract is more soluble at temperatures below 20°C. than freshly brewed tea.
31. The water-soluble Desorbate tea extract of claim 30 wherein said compounds are quantitatively and qualitatively substantially the same as that of a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, as indicated by chemical/molecular weight distribution chromatographic analysis.
32. The improved water-soluble Desorbate tea extract of claim 31 wherein said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon standing in ice.
33. The process of claim 1 wherein the process water of step (2) is treated with a minor but effective amount of additive selected from the group consisting of suitable higher chain polyphosphates, bisulfites, sulfites and carrageenan.
34. The process of claim 33 wherein said additive is sodium bisulfite at a level of from about 0.005 to about 0.5%.
35. The process of claim 33 wherein said sulfite is selected from the group consisting of ammonium and alkali metal sulfites.
36. The process of claim 1 or claim 33 wherein a minor amount of water is also used to pre-wet or pre-swell said upper portion of said ground tea leaves.
37. The improved water soluble tea extract of claim 12 or claim 30 wherein said extract is dried in a manner to provide a dried instant tea product having a density of about 0.05 to about 0.15 g/cc.
38. The improved water soluble tea extract of claim 12 or claim 30 wherein said extract is dried in a manner to provide a dried instant tea product having a density of about 0.08 to 0.12 g/cc.
39. A process for making an improved water soluble tea extract having improved overall fresh brewlike tea-like aroma, flavor and flavor strength, said process comprising the steps of:
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said water and wet steam being applied in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then main-taining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition, upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amount as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, said tea extract being more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C. than freshly brewed tea, and said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon cooling with ice; and wherein said process water of step (2) is pretreated with a low calcium lambda carageenan at a level of from about 0.005% to about 0.5% in said process water.
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and an absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said water and wet steam being applied in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then main-taining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to about 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition, upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amount as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, said tea extract being more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C. than freshly brewed tea, and said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon cooling with ice; and wherein said process water of step (2) is pretreated with a low calcium lambda carageenan at a level of from about 0.005% to about 0.5% in said process water.
40. A process for making an improved water soluble tea extract having improved overall fresh brewlike tea-like aroma, flavor and flavor strength, said process comprising the steps of:
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said water and wet steam being applied in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then main-taining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to out 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, said tea extract being more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C.
than freshly brewed tea, and said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon cooling with ice; and wherein said process water of step (2) is pretreated with a minor but effective amount of mixture of sodium bisulfite and low calcium lambda carrageenan.
(1) pre-wetting and pre-swelling a finite portion of a columnar bed of ground tea leaves by passing steam through said bed in such a manner so as to pre-wet and pre-swell only an upper portion of said ground tea leaves in said bed, said bed being held at a temperature of below about 65°C. and absolute pressure of about 13 mbar to about 400 mbar;
(2) slowly passing water and wet steam through said bed in such a manner which avoids flooding of said bed and thereby providing a moving interface between wet swollen ground tea leaves and substantially dry tea leaves until an initial aqueous tea extract breaks through said bed, said water and wet steam being applied in an amount sufficient to provide an initial aqueous tea extract having a draw-off weight ratio of extract to dry tea leaves of from 0.5:1 to 3:1, said bed being held at said temperature and said pressure until about one-half of said water and wet steam have been applied, and then main-taining a temperature in said bed below about 72°C.; and (3) collecting said initial aqueous tea extract in a cold trap to provide said improved water soluble tea extract, said cold trap being held at an absolute pressure of about 1 to out 613 mbar and a temperature from about -180°C. to about 20°C.; wherein said improved water soluble tea extract composition upon reconstitution in water, comprises flavanols, theaflavins, thearubigins, caffeine, amino acids, and other tea compounds, in approximately the same relative amounts as a freshly brewed tea prepared from a comparable tea blend, said tea extract being more soluble at temperatures below about 20°C.
than freshly brewed tea, and said reconstituted tea remains substantially soluble upon cooling with ice; and wherein said process water of step (2) is pretreated with a minor but effective amount of mixture of sodium bisulfite and low calcium lambda carrageenan.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US936,951 | 1978-08-25 | ||
| US05/936,951 US4220673A (en) | 1978-08-25 | 1978-08-25 | Low-temperature steam desorbate process for improved instant tea |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1126571A true CA1126571A (en) | 1982-06-29 |
Family
ID=25469254
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA334,390A Expired CA1126571A (en) | 1978-08-25 | 1979-08-24 | Low-temperature steam desorbate process for improved instant tea |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4220673A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0008485B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5561761A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1126571A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2963243D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (22)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5558006A (en) * | 1994-08-04 | 1996-09-24 | Kuboyama; Nobuyoshi | Health beverage plant extraction apparatus |
| US5532012A (en) * | 1995-06-02 | 1996-07-02 | Thomas J. Lipton Co., Division Of Conopco, Inc. | Process for preparation of purified tea components using preconcentration by cream separation and solubilization followed by medium pressure chromatography and/or preparative HPLC |
| US5641532A (en) * | 1995-12-15 | 1997-06-24 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Beverages having stable flavor/cloud emulsions in the presence of polyphosphate-containing preservative systems by including gellan gum |
| ATE194264T1 (en) * | 1995-12-15 | 2000-07-15 | Procter & Gamble | BEVERAGES WITH STABLE AROMA/TURBIDITY EMULSIONS IN THE PRESENCE OF PRESERVATION SYSTEMS CONTAINING POLYPHOSPHATES AND LOW CONTENTS OF XANTHANGUM |
| WO2000009641A1 (en) | 1998-08-17 | 2000-02-24 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Multifunctional detergent materials |
| AU5891000A (en) * | 1999-06-28 | 2001-01-31 | Astaris Llc | Non-carbonated beverages comprising antimicrobial long chain polyphosphates |
| US7232585B2 (en) * | 2004-06-24 | 2007-06-19 | Xel Herbaceuticals, Inc. | Green tea formulations and methods of preparation |
| US7226631B2 (en) * | 2004-08-12 | 2007-06-05 | Nestec S.A. | Method and apparatus for consumable powder reconstitution and frothing |
| US6973869B1 (en) * | 2004-09-16 | 2005-12-13 | Huan-Liang Lin | Extraction device |
| US8846127B2 (en) | 2008-03-17 | 2014-09-30 | Suntory Beverage & Food Limited | Taste-improving agents and tea drinks containing thereof |
| JP5622451B2 (en) * | 2010-06-21 | 2014-11-12 | 小川香料株式会社 | Tea extract |
| CA2788283C (en) | 2011-09-01 | 2019-11-26 | 2266170 Ontario Inc. | Beverage capsule |
| EP2730523B1 (en) | 2012-11-12 | 2016-04-06 | 2266170 Ontario, Inc. | Beverage capsule and process and system for making same |
| KR20150136533A (en) | 2013-04-03 | 2015-12-07 | 2266170 온타리오 인크. | Capsule machine and components |
| CA2912723C (en) | 2013-05-23 | 2017-02-07 | 2266170 Ontario Inc. | Capsule housing |
| US10611507B2 (en) | 2013-08-20 | 2020-04-07 | 2266170 Ontario Inc. | Capsule with control member |
| US10314319B2 (en) * | 2013-11-20 | 2019-06-11 | 2266170 Ontario Inc. | Method and apparatus for accelerated or controlled degassing of roasted coffee |
| WO2015139140A1 (en) | 2014-03-21 | 2015-09-24 | 2266170 Ontario Inc. | Capsule with steeping chamber |
| DE202015009685U1 (en) | 2014-09-19 | 2019-03-06 | Bogdan KRINITCHKO | Machine for brewing tea |
| JP2019533448A (en) * | 2016-10-17 | 2019-11-21 | ブコン リミティド ライアビリティ カンパニー | System and method for vacuum extraction of low temperature brewed beverages |
| CN108157551B (en) * | 2016-12-07 | 2021-07-09 | 康师傅饮品控股有限公司 | Tea extract and tea beverage prepared by ice extraction technology and preparation method thereof |
| CN106819250A (en) * | 2017-01-12 | 2017-06-13 | 康师傅饮品控股有限公司 | Oolong tea extract and its low-temperature extraction method |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE291918C (en) * | ||||
| BE538319A (en) * | ||||
| US2831772A (en) * | 1956-03-22 | 1958-04-22 | Afico Sa | Beverage preparation |
| US2978328A (en) * | 1958-06-24 | 1961-04-04 | Tea Corp | Process for producing a tea concentrate |
| US3224880A (en) * | 1963-04-29 | 1965-12-21 | Clayton Van Ike | Process of producing an extract of coffee, tea or the like |
| US3717472A (en) * | 1971-06-30 | 1973-02-20 | Procter & Gamble | Separating aroma-and flavor-bearing substrates into aroma and flavor concentrates |
| US3997685A (en) * | 1971-06-30 | 1976-12-14 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Stable aroma, flavor and aroma and flavor products from aroma- and flavor-bearing substrates |
-
1978
- 1978-08-25 US US05/936,951 patent/US4220673A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1979
- 1979-08-21 EP EP79200467A patent/EP0008485B1/en not_active Expired
- 1979-08-21 DE DE7979200467T patent/DE2963243D1/en not_active Expired
- 1979-08-24 CA CA334,390A patent/CA1126571A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-08-25 JP JP10855679A patent/JPS5561761A/en active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0008485A3 (en) | 1980-03-19 |
| JPS5561761A (en) | 1980-05-09 |
| US4220673A (en) | 1980-09-02 |
| DE2963243D1 (en) | 1982-08-19 |
| EP0008485A2 (en) | 1980-03-05 |
| EP0008485B1 (en) | 1982-06-30 |
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